India's Polished Exports "Head for Five-Year Low"
March 07, 24
(IDEX Online) - India's cut and polished diamond exports are forecast to hit a five-year low this financial year, with little prospect of a recovery in FY2025.
They are expected to drop by 25 to 30 per cent this year to between $15bn and $16bn, according to Mumbai-based CareEdge Ratings, based on its review of companies representing over a third of the country's diamond market.
Exports peaked at $24.43 bn in FY2022, but have since plunged to just $13.04bn in the first 10 months of FY2024.
The CareEdge credit ratings company says slowdowns in the US and Chinese economies - together accounting for 65 per cent of India's diamond exports - are largely to blame, together with a surge in the popularity of lab growns. G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds will also have an impact, it said.
Yogesh Shah,senior director, said: "Players operating in smaller carat diamonds (below 0.3 carats) to be better placed than entities dealing in certified diamonds, as smaller carat diamonds have witnessed lower price erosion and limited impact of LGD diamonds".